That means planting corn in the same fields over and over. It means counting on Monsanto’s Bt traits that kill bugs… but not taking adequate measures to ensure those bugs don’t evolve resistance and then spread like wildfire.

How do I know they’re not adequate measures? Because if they were, we wouldn’t have resistance outbreaks in four states! Oh, and also the EPA called the efforts “inadequate”.

The EPA report “does throw a harsher light on the longer- term efficacy of the trait,” Chris Shaw, a New York-based analyst at Monness Crespi Hardt & Co., told Bloomberg Businessweek.

Double fail

And Bloomberg adds that this comes on top of another fail:

Monsanto’s most advanced resistance problem is with crops engineered to tolerate its Roundup herbicide. Weeds that are no longer killed by Roundup have invaded 14 million acres of U.S. cotton, soybean and corn, according to Syngenta AG, a Swiss chemical maker. A Dow Chemical Co. study this year found as many as 20 million acres of corn and soybeans may be infested.

According to the EPA memo, Monsanto has not been doing investigations in enough cases because the company’s threshold for testing is too low. The scientists also concluded that the company isn’t testing samples close enough to the problem fields, and that the company may not have collected samples from all the fields where farmers reported problems.

Doubling down

Monsanto’s response is to double-down, pushing so-called “stacked” seeds that carry more than one genetically engineered trait. But the EPA is concerned that would just lead to even stronger superbugs.

“They’re saying that resistance will evolve more easily on the second protein,” said Bill Freese, of the Center for Food Safety.”That’s very important.”

What happens when Monsanto’s seeds fail? It’s going to be a big problem… because Monsanto has seen to it that there are no other seeds.

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About the Author

Jeremy Bloom Jeremy Bloom is the Editor of RedGreenAndBlue. He lives in Los Angeles, where he combines his passion for the environment with his passion for film, and is working on making the world a better place.

In the 21st century, monopolies aren’t just bad for competitors–they’re bad for everyone. I think it’s astounding just how stubbornly short-sighted some corporations are in the name of profit. How is fleshing out the bottom line worth it when it means fundamentally jeopardizing the future of all?

Nature will always have the last word – don’t these cunts get that? I am very glad to see these crops fail and I hope they continue to fail. farmers who use this shit deserve for all of their crops to fail. I don’t feel sorry for them AT ALL.

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